My kids both weigh 50lbs and are 48"(son) and 52"(daughter) tall. They will be sailing in 8-20mph winds. I&#39;m not concerned about sharing a board with my kids. My wife and I both have our own boards. I&#39;d like to get a board that works well for them in non-planing conditions, as well as transition into planing. I like the rio small for the retractable centerboard, but I fear the board may be too big for the sail size(1.0, 1.5, 2.4) they will be using. I like the idea of the kids being able to kick up the centerboard if they want to try and plane and then put it back down to get them back upwind if needed. The centerfins aren&#39;t as convenient. Would the rio small work for them? If not, what are your board suggestions?

Roger

20th August 2006, 08:20 PM

Hi Frank,
I think the Rio Small will work quite well.
Yes, you children are small, but I&#39;ve used the Rio S, on a tether behind
me on a Rio M or Start L and this works really well for any kid large enough to handle a rig and sail on their own.
As soon as they "prove themselves" by sailing along with lots of slack in the tether line, I untie the tether and they are on their own.
I would however recommend that you use a 1.7 and 2.5 m2 rigs for them, and limit their sailing to the < 12 knots range (until they prove they can handle more wind).
Kids are amazing, they can do almost anything.
They pickup new techinque and learn from what they see others doing practically by osmosis or something.
BUT, you need to stay on top of changing conditions and have you or your wife sail near them whenever they are "challenging" their personal boundaries, because if they get stuck out there, and get scared, it&#39;s often hard to get them back into it.
They are "fearless" up to a point, and as the parent or relavant adult on the scene you need to be close to support them when situations the simply cannot handle alone confront them.
Get them the best, easiest to use gear, send them out in conditions they have the skills to handle (they will amaze you with how quickly they can handle more daunting and heavy duty things) and they will learn sso fast it makes your head spin.
Send them out on gear that isn&#39;t easy to use, in conditions that cause them to become afraid, and they may simply quit and not want to try it again.
The right board and rig, good basic skills lessons, some time on a tether, whenever the conditions are daunting or new to them, and they will exceed your expectations at every turn.
Hope this helps,

Frank Scotello

20th August 2006, 08:56 PM

Thanks! I was hoping this board would suit them. As far as sails go, we already have 1.0, 1.5, 2.4, 3.6 in kids sails. My son used the 1.0 in higher winds and the 1.5 and 2.4 in lighter winds. My daughter is going to try it out for the first time today. I hope she likes it. I can&#39;t wait to get the Rio Small and sail with the kids! :D

Roger

21st August 2006, 06:43 AM

Hi Frank,
Let us know how you get along with the smaller kids on the Rio S please.
Hope this helps,

johntr

17th June 2007, 03:19 AM

Roger:

I&#39;ve been wondering about trying out your tether technique with my older Start boards, that don&#39;t have holes in the bottom. Should the tether also be connected to the mast on my Start board? Or would dodging it be too annoying?

Thanks,
John

Roger

17th June 2007, 12:23 PM

Hi Johntr,
Which form of "tethering" do you want to try?
The "between two boards tether, or a "static" tether.
For a "static tether", I drill a small hole near the tip of the
center fin on the older starts.
A 1/8" hole does not affect the performance of the center fin, and you
can tie a small loop of line through the hole to attach your static tether line.
Be sure to attach a small lead "sinker" (you can get them at fishing supply stores or commercial marine chandlers) so that your tether line
hangs straight down from the fin (or the tether attachment on later Starts and Rio&#39;s) but does not touch the bottom.
Then a good sma;; muchroom anchor worked into the bottom until it&#39;s fully covered, and you have a self suffcient static tether system.
If you are wanting to try the "between the boards" tether system, that consists of about 15 feet (5 m) of line with a short section of "bungee" chord tied in the middle. So, you have 2 pcs of 1/4-3/8 " line about 7-10 feet long and a 12-18" piece of 3/8" bungee in the center.
Tie the line to the mast foot on the "instructor board" and tie the other end to the hole in the nose of your older Start that your students will be on.
Tell the students their "job" is to sail well enough to keep slack in the line.
The idea here is not to "tow" them, but simply to give the instructor some control to prevent the student from sailing off downwind.
This works really well because the 2 boards are at a conversational distance apart (no yelling required or desired) and the student has only to look at the other end of the tether line to see how the instructor uses stance, foot position on the board, sheeting angle, clew position, etc. make the board go where they want it to.
I find that < 10 minutes is all it takes for most students to pick up enough basics that they can be "set free" to sail around on their own.
Hope this helps,

wsurfn

19th June 2007, 01:27 AM

Roger:

I think it is time for a quick web-based video on how to set-up kids rigs, tethers, FAQs.

I think print media has done all it can to for parents, it is time for some video examples.

Lots of parents probably interested, but unsure how and what is really going to take to get it all going, and anxious they will burn bridges if not done right.

Svein, I would think, would be interested. We love seeing the potential of the ProKids, but let&#39;s see some real kids in real conditions learning. I think you would be a good source to give the parents some video guidence.

Just my thoughts. :)

puffin

19th June 2007, 05:07 AM

From an amazing experience yesterday...

A good friend decided to finally get his kids (daughters 11 and 7, 4&#39;11" and 4&#39; even). He had them on a Starsurfer with a Hotsails 2.1. The girls learned very quickly, had a great time, and appear to be bitten. The board is small enough that either girl could turn the thing by repositioning the rig (the older girl was tacking inside of five minutes). They had none of the "barge" issues that I&#39;ve run into in informal instruction of kids on adult boards of any size.

It was a fantastic day...very rewarding. I have a blog entry about it here if anyone is interested:
http://www.peconicpuffin.com/the_peconic_puffin/2007/06/newbie_frenzy_i.html

Frank Scotello wrote:
My kids both weigh 50lbs and are 48"(son) and 52"(daughter) tall. They will be sailing in 8-20mph winds. I&#39;m not concerned about sharing a board with my kids. My wife and I both have our own boards. I&#39;d like to get a board that works well for them in non-planing conditions, as well as transition into planing. I like the rio small for the retractable centerboard, but I fear the board may be too big for the sail size(1.0, 1.5, 2.4) they will be using. I like the idea of the kids being able to kick up the centerboard if they want to try and plane and then put it back down to get them back upwind if needed. The centerfins aren&#39;t as convenient. Would the rio small work for them? If not, what are your board suggestions?